Sad news and happy news from two Wilmington-ish bands I mention often.

Dr. Dog, which is based in Philly but has one founding member who lives in Wilmington, and who played DE often before making it big (both as Dr. Dog and their earlier incarnation, Raccoon), made an appeal on Facebook on behalf of a family member:

"Dear friends,
This is Scott writing. I hope the new year is finding you fit and free from sorrow. I wanted to tell you about my nephew Charlie. He is a radiant little guy all of three years old and he has been waiting in the Cleveland clinic for a heart transplant. His condition in the meantime is strong and stable, but as you can imagine the stress of not knowing when a new heart for him will be available is taking a strong toll on him and on my family. There is a very generous organization called COTA that has been gracious enough to help my family organize awareness and support to help us cope with the financial and emotional strain of this time. Any kind words, prayers, or donations you may be able to spare would mean a lot to my family and Charlie too, in this time of need. Thank you for all of your ongoing love and support. If you'd like to help out you can visit COTA for more information. We have also set up a group where we will be posting more regular updates, which you can join here http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforCharlieJM/

With hope and humble sincerity, your friend Scott"

For some reason I was unsuccessful in uploading a picture of Charlie, so you'll have to take my word for it: he's cute as a button.   Or visit the donation link to see the picture: http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforCharlieJM/
~~~~~~

In more light-hearted news, Thomas Hughes, one of the two brothers in The Spinto Band (love them, hate them, or don't know them: they're currently Wilmington's most nationally-known band), made a tour announcement this week.  Hughes is going to be playing a variety of instruments on tour with The Music Tapes, in support of Neutral Milk Hotel, which seems to be the most anticipated indie tour of 2012 (you may recognize their singer, Jeff Mangum, for having played a few free shows in support of the Occupy Wallstreet folks recently).  It really is a huge honor, and I wish Thomas and his band well.

Quasi-relevant side note:
That didn't stop Spinto fan Jayson Letsch from responding with:

"NMH is an overrated crap-fest of unlistenable garbage."  Followed up with:

"And I mean overrated within their own genre. Horrible band, really. Maybe one good song? Maybe? Meh..."

I had a whole paragraph typed up about internet boorishness, but felt too hypocritical posting it because I can be guilty of the same.  So I will leave it at this: everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you wouldn't say something that blunt and vitriolic to a friend who had just made a similar announcement and was hoping for your support, why would you say it to a band you're Facebook friends with?